A New Generation, a New Villain
by Georgie Max
Summary: It's been 13 years since the Avengers defeated Loki and his army. Things have been pretty quiet since then. Now, however, a new generation of heroes is rising up, and with it is coming a new generation of villains. I do not claim to own the Avengers themselves or anything related to them that comes from the movies, comics, etc. I do own Florence and Alexius.
1. Chapter 1

Florence Peggy Rogers.

That's my name. It's old-fashioned, I know, but I sort of like it.

Nonetheless, most people just call me Reni.

Except for my dad. He calls me Florence, or Flo.

While we're on the subject of my parents...well. My parents.

Many stories have been told about that amazing supersoldier Steve Rogers who fought valiantly in WWII...then sacrificially crash-landed an enemy plane into vast, frozen nothingness, was frozen for 70 years, then unfrozen and brought back to modern life to fight with S.H.I.E.L.D.

Those stories have also contained the story of Steve Rogers' true love, Agent Peggy Carter. But those stories...well, they've only told _half_ the story.

Steve Rogers, the supersoldier also known as Captain America, is my dad.

And what most people don't know is that shortly after he was frozen and reportedly died, my mother, Agent Peggy Carter, was in a submarine battle with the leftover fragments of HYDRA. My mother was sucked out of the submarine somehow (how that happened, no one is sure even now-my mom doesn't remember any of it) and become frozen herself. The crazy part about all this is that years later, when they found my dad, they also found my mom. But they kept her finding a secret, almost as much of a secret as my dad's finding.

My mom was unfrozen seven months after my dad was. He often describes that time as the worst seven months of his life. When finally they were united, they were married-it was quiet and quick but meaningful. Nick Fury kept it hush-hush for the most part, even from the rest of the Avengers for a little while. Most of them took it well when they were told. Well, except for Tony. Tony seemed a little bit taken aback at the fact that my dad could find a wife. But then again, Tony isn't the kind of guy who could commit to a wife.

They had me soon after they were married. Life's been pretty quiet since then. My life hasn't been endangered because of any big threats to earth and the Avengers or anything-after all, they took care of Loki-what other major villains could there be out there?

So what's it like, being an Avenger's daughter?

Well, it's different. I can definitely say that!

In some ways, I'm your normal 13 year old girl.

But in a lot of ways, I'm not. I'm not like other girls my age in that I'm totally uninterested in boys, tip-top fashion, or social stuff. I guess when you are around superheroes...those things seem puny and minor.

I don't go to a "normal" public school. We often travel all over the world, so I'm either taught by some special person within S.H.I.E.L.D., by my parents, or, occasionally, by a private tutor, although that doesn't happen much because there are few tutors we trust.

My parents told me about the Avengers and about their past when I was pretty young-I'm an only child, and my parents are always telling me I'm really mature-so I guess I knew enough to keep my mouth closed about it. It was all very confusing at first, but now I get it and it's old news-just part of our family history.

I spend a lot of time around Natasha, Dr. Banner, Tony, and Clint. Thor has returned to earth a few times but has been away for a few years now on some business in Asgard, the kingdom he now rules-I'm hoping that he stays out there in outer space because I've concluded that wherever he goes, Loki usually comes with him. I get along with the rest of the Avengers pretty well, and I'm sort of accepted into their circle. I have different ways to connect with each of them.

It's easy to get along with Clint-well, relatively easy. Clint is a guy of few words, and he's smart and quick-thinking, but he's also pretty laid-back. When he opens his mouth to speak, you know you better listen because it's got to be something important.

Dr. Banner is very calm and gentle-that is, when he's not the "enormous green rage monster". I've only seen him that way once-and that was from afar, as dad hurried me out of the way. Bruce is always up to some kind of research, and sometimes he has me help him with his experiments. He sometimes refers to himself as my mentor, which I think is pretty neat.

Tony is...well, Tony. He's arrogant and self-centered, but I'm stubborn and spunky. I think we both know our boundaries.

Natasha is probably my favorite one in the group. She's quick-thinking and determined, and boy is she brave. She's always open to teaching me new combat moves. She and my mom get along well.

And Nick Fury? Well, he never talks to me, or even acknowledges my prescence unless it's absolutely necessary. But, for the most part, I don't mind that. The dude kind of scares me.

So yeah, I'm living a pretty great life. My dad is extra protective of me, but I don't mind that. I think he realizes how close he came to losing my mom and I, and he just wants to keep us safe.

My mom is very smart and daring-just like she was back in the old days. But there's something different now-maybe it's her motherly instincts, but she's less...I don't know...harsh? That's not the right word. She's less _cool_. That's it. At least, she's not cool to me. She hugs me and shows affection-she's more_ warm_. But don't get me wrong, she's just as feisty as ever. She can still pick up a gun and top just about anyone at S.H.I.E.L.D. And when she's asked to step in and help, I get glimpses of how awesome she must have been in WWII. I love those times.

_OoOoOo _

_**One day in 2025, 13 years after the Avengers defeated Loki.**_

I walked into the conference room where the Avengers normally met. There was no one there except for Maria, also known as Agent Hill, who was looking through some files. She had replaced Agent Coulson after Loki's stint and now was Fury's head assistant.

"Hey Maria," I called as I headed for the mini-fridge.

"Mmhm," replied Maria absentmindedly.

I heard the door open and looked up to see Dr. Banner enter the room, Tony behind him.

"Yes, I know that that formula has been 'disproved' before, but one more try wouldn't hurt, right?" Apparently, the two were engaged in a strong discussion. And apparently, as always, the talking was mostly done by Tony.

"I mean, think of all the things we could do, Banner!"

"It's _Doctor_ Banner to you, Tony."

Tony stopped for a moment. "Why only to me?"

Dr. Banner ignored this last comment. He glanced at me and smiled. "There's my favorite pupil."

Tony looked at me and rolled his eyes. "Oh, is the kid allowed to call you Banner?"

"Certainly not," Dr. Banner replied. "It's mandatory that she either call me Dr. Banner or Bruce!"

Tony scowled. "You never let me or anyone else call you Bruce!" He looked at me again. "What is it, day of hearts?"

I looked down. My shirt had a heart on it, I was wearing a heart necklace and bracelet, and my shoes-converse-had blue hearts on them.

"Yeah, you didn't get the memo?"

Tony rolled his eyes. Sometimes I wondered if those eyes would roll right out of his head. And sometimes, I'll admit, I wished they would.

"Here, you can borrow this," I replied, tossing him my bracelet. He caught it, held it between his forefinger and thumb, then dropped it on the table as if it were a piece of toxin. I grinned.

Natasha and and Clint entered the room now. Clint immediately walked over to me, opened the mini-fridge, pulled out a soda, and sat down, clearly in some kind of deep thought and talking to no one.

Natasha examined the room in one sweeping glance and said, "Reni, where are your parents?"

"I think they were stopping off to report something to Fury."

Natasha looked up at Agent Hill.

"Maria called us in here."

"Yes, I did. But I want to wait until everyone's here." Maria's voice sounded strange. "And Fury ordered you all here, too. He said it couldn't wait."

Everyone looked up at this. Tony from his still heated discussion with Dr. Banner, Clint from his soda, and Natasha and I from our conversation.

"It couldn't wait?" Clint looked at Natasha, then back at Maria.

Tony sat there, stock still for a moment, then shrugged. "I'll bet he just wants us to approve some kind of...software or something."

"I doubt it." This was Natasha's reply. I sensed that something was serious, so I chose not to interfere. I simply listened.

"Well, Fury himself should be here in a few moments to discuss it with you." Maria's voice sounded firm, and everyone knew that that was a signal for everyone to be quiet until Fury arrived.

What seemed like an agonizing eternity-but what was probably no more than fifteen minutes-passed, and soon Fury came in, leading my parents. Everything had been nauseatingly silent as everyone sat around, absorbed in their own thoughts and presuppositions. Now they rose as Fury held up a hand. "I know, I know you're dying to know what's going on. Sit down and we'll talk."

Everyone took a seat around the long conference table in the center of the room.

I looked up at my parents, but they weren't looking at me. I could tell they were totally preoccupied. I tried to fade into the background as much as possible.

Fury looked up at Maria. "Make sure all security precautions are taken so that the selected members of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers-" he glanced at me, "are the only persons who hear this report. **No one** is to speak of this to **anyone **who is not currently in this room. Understood?"

Everyone nodded.

"Thirteen years ago, we defeated Loki and his intergalactic army. Since then, we have not heard a peep out of them, and to be honest, that has scared me more than a thousand threats because I know from experience that silence from an enemy does not mean surrender; it means plotting."

I took a deep breath and seemed to feel everyone in the room do the same thing.

"Loki has left us alone for some time. But rumor has it that he has sent an evil force into the world once again. No, he himself hasn't come, he's sent someone else. We don't have enough information yet to tackle it, but I'm warning all of you to **be on your guard**."

I looked at the different faces at that table. For the first time in his life, Tony didn't seem to have anything to say. Dr. Banner looked quietly at the glass table before him, just staring at it, examining it. Natasha and Clint seemed to watch Fury's face for signs of any untold information. And my parents? Dad looked concerned. I can think of no other way to better describe it than _concerned_. My mom seemed to be just taking everything in.

No one spoke for a long while. Finally, my mom spoke up. "Do you have any more details?"

Fury shook his head. "Agent Carter, if I did, I would've already told them."

Dad looked up. "How do we know that? Don't think, Fury, that we have forgotten what happened on your boat-ship years ago."

Tony nodded. "I have to agree with Steve."

I raised an eyebrow. _Tony_ agree with _dad_? This had to be something serious.

"I think we all know that when details need to be told, I tell them." With this rather cold ending note, Fury rose and exited the room. Maria stood up. "I'm sending you all a file to refresh you with Loki and his prevoius plots."

"As if we couldn't already remember them?" Clint raised an eyebrow. "Agent Hill, you forget that we fought them, blood and sweat."

Maria nodded. "Just going through the motions." Then she followed after Fury, leaving the team alone, deep in thought.


	2. Chapter Two

_Author's note: One of my readers noticed that even though Agent Carter has gotten married, her title hasn't changed-she's not being called Agent Rogers. Good observation! Sorry for not explaining that. Peggy has chosen to keep her old title, at least when she's at S.H.I.E.L.D., since that's what she was known by during her time in WWII. Hope that makes sense. :)_ _And now...on with the story!_

I don't do cheerleading, or dance, or softball, or theater, or volleyball, or anything like that. I guess in light of what my parents do, all that seems pretty overrated. I don't have many interests that are unrelated to the Avengers. That's just it. I want to be an agent with S.H.I.E.L.D., and no, I don't want to be a mini-Maria, living out my days as Fury's assistant.

Nope. I wanna be the real deal. But then again, I don't have a serum, or a super suit, or a terrible temper, or amazing archery skills, or even good assassin skills. Oops.

But there is one thing I have a passion for that has nothing to do with spying, or defeating the evil powers that try to take over the earth.

Soccer. I love soccer.

So, twice a week during soccer season, my mom drops me off at soccer practice and then heads for S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters.

The rest of the Avengers probably shake their heads and wonder why on earth I like it so much...but there's something about being in the open air, summoning all my energy and getting ready to try to make that big, final kick that wins a game for the team. It's just-perfect. It gives me a good balance against anything that might be going on at S.H.I.E.L.D...including the threat of a new Loki.

Wednesday, two days after Fury broke the news, Mom dropped me off at soccer practice and then headed for S.H.I.E.L.D. I hoisted my duffle bag higher on my shoulder and headed for the field. I looked around. Coach was having part of the team do excercises as the rest of us arrived. I walked towards one of the bleachers and sat down.

"Hello."

I jumped a little. Sitting behind me was a boy. I hadn't seen him there a moment ago.

"Um...hi."

He didn't respond, he simply moved to the seat beside me.

_Well. That's akward,_ I thought. "I don't recognize you," I said, "Are you new?"

"What?" He seemed confused for a moment.

"Are you new to the team?"

"Oh. Eh...yes."

I frowned slightly. This boy reminded me of someone, something...but I couldn't quite place my finger on what or who it was. He had dark, curly hair and snake-like vivid green eyes. He was sort of...ugly. Well, not ugly, just...not pretty. He was strange. He puzzled me.

"Well, my name is Reni. What's your name?"

"Alexius."

"Oh okay. Do you mind if I call you Alex?"

"My name is Alexius."

_Oookay. This guy is extremely weird, _ I thought. "Well, it's time for practice. I think we should-"

"Your name is Florence Rogers, correct?"

_Woah. This guy's a creeper._

"Uh...yeah. Yeah it is. But call me Reni."

**OoOoOo**

Mom had picked me up. Now we were at S.H.I.E.L.D. We were in one of the more secret rooms. It was stocked with computers; all over the walls were large screens and gadgets and all kinds of things that S.H.I.E.L.D. uses.

All the Avengers were in the room. Silence. Fury entered, Agent Hill like a puppy behind him. More silence.

"Hello, folks." I leaned against the wall, afraid of what was coming next. "We still haven't figured out what exactly Loki has sent, but we now have concrete evidence that that force is somewhere on this earth, very possibly in New York. New York-and the rest of the world-is in danger again."

I held my breath as Maria began pulling up files on the screens. The air was tense. Everyone seemed absorbed in their own thoughts.

"Now," continued Fury, "your job is-"

He stopped abruptly. We stared at the screen. I gasped. Fear seized me.

There, on the screen, was Loki's face. I had seen it often enough. In pictures and news footage. I was terrified. I had often had bad dreams about Loki-seeing him face-to-face, even if through a screen, was one of my worst nightmares. Yet there he was.

"Hello, S.H.I.E.L.D," he said in a curt, menacing manner. "Yes, yes, you're all wondering where I am. I am in the kingdom of the frost giants, where I am honored, so you should not have to worry about me this time. Conquering Midgard should be easy enough for my son."

My mouth dropped open. His son?

"Explain yourself, Loki." Fury's voice was firm.

"Oh, I plan to. I married into the frost giant race. My son is young and full of life. I have taught him everything he could ever wish to know and he has received amazing power from the most praised magicians in this realm."

My breath was shaky.

"My son will conquer Midgard. Alexius and I will rule."

I slid to the floor. _Alexius!_

Loki disappeared from the screen. Everything was silent.

"How do we look for him?" asked Clint.

"We don't. I mean, there's no way we can. We'll just have to wait until he comes to us. There's no way of knowing who or where he is," Natasha replied.

No one answered.

"The only thing we know about him is that his name is Alexius," dad said.

"He'll probably take on a human form, just like Loki did," said Natasha.

"I know who he is."

All eyes turned to me. I bit my lip and a chilling shudder came over me. "His name is Alexius. He's on my soccer team. Today was the first day I've ever seen him. He knew my name. He knew who I was."

_Of course! How could I not have seen it? He had the same dark hair, the same cold, evil green eyes as Loki. It made him seem almost reptilian, _I thought, chiding myself for not realizing it earlier.

Now everyone was surrounding me.

"What else did he say?" asked Dad.

"He seemed to spring up out of nowhere. I asked him if he was new and he said yes. I asked him what his name was. He told me it was Alexius." My voice was coming in strong. I was spilling out information, becoming more and more terrified all the time. "I asked if I could call him Alex and he repeated that his name was Alexius. I introduced myself as Reni, but the last thing he said to me was, 'Your name is Florence Rogers, correct?' I told him it was and then I started walking towards the field to start practice. I looked around and he was gone."

Everyone was staring at me.

Now Fury spoke. "Captain Rogers, Reni is in danger. Apparently they're targeting her for some reason." Fury looked at me. "Reni, you will have to play along with the plot. We have to set up a strategy, and we have to follow it exactly. If something goes wrong, this Alexius could take over the world."

I shuddered. "Yes sir."

"You're in the game now, Reni." Fury's voice was deep and firm. "There's no way for you to avoid it. You'll start training along with the rest of the team."

Mom squeezed my hand.

"Alright, everyone, get back to your business. You guys need to be mutilating punching bags right now." Fury left with those words, Maria behind him.

Everyone left the room and headed for different places-Tony to his tower to work on his suit, Natasha to her training room, Dad to his gym and Mom to her shooting range, and Dr. Banner to his lab. I simply sat in the hallway, my knees pulled to my chest, thinking. Mom and dad patted my shoulder as they passed. Clint stopped in front of me. "Reni, come with me."

I followed him into his training room and sat down as he began setting up targets. "You're part of the team now, Reni. You're not just a bystander, or an Avenger's daughter. Do you understand that?"

I was feeling a surge of emotions; fear, excitement, anxiety, and some form of twisted happiness at the fact that I was part of the Avengers now, but I was able to give him a straight answer: "Yes, I understand."

"You've got it made." I was amazed at how much Clint was saying to me. "You're going to have the world at your fingertips. Natasha and Agent Carter will teach you shooting and overall assassin skills, Tony will teach you...whatever Tony can teach you, Dr. Banner will prepare you to deal with any scientific issues this Alexius throws at you, Steve will teach you hand to hand combat, and I-" he paused, "I am going to teach you archery."

I nodded, slightly in awe. "I'd like that."

"Good. Let's get to work."


	3. Chapter Three

"Right here."

The black SUV stopped and I looked out the window. There was the soccer field, and all my teammates out there on it. At first glance, I didn't see Alexius. _But then again,_ I thought, _who knows where he may be lurking._

"Alright, Reni, tell me the plan." Nick Fury seemed to stare a hole in me with his intimidating dark brown eyes. A S.H.I.E.L.D. agent was driving the SUV. Nick Fury was sitting in the passenger's seat and Agent Hill was in the back with me-tagging along, as always.

"I'm to keep a sharp look out for-_Alexius_." I spoke the name in disgust. Disgust for what he stood for and disgust for where he came from.

"And if you see him?"

"I have to intercom you."

"That's right. Go."

I climbed out of the SUV, blinking in the sunlight. I looked around and frowned.

"You go, Reni," Agent Hill whispered encouragingly. I turned and smiled at her, then closed the door.

I took a deep breath. My stomach was churning. What if I _did_ see him? I took a deep breath. _Why am I so scared? _I thought. _This is nothing compared to what might happen in the future. If I'm going to be a great S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, I'm going to have to forget these stupid emotions!_

Despite what was mulling in my head, my stride was strong and unwavering-confident. I used my peripheral vision to glance around. No sign of Alexius yet. I set down my bag and put on my cleats, watching my surroundings like a hawk. No evil son of a villain in sight. I hit the field and began practice. That wonderful rush I got when I made my first kick didn't come today. I was just..._off_. I kept looking over my shoulder. Still no trace of Alexius. I saw the SUV circle around the field a few times and glanced at my teammates to see if they noticed. They didn't seem to.

"Rogers." I looked up, startled, at one of my teammates, a girl whose name I couldn't remember.

"Focus."

I hesitated. "Um...yeah. Sorry."

Practice came to an end. Still no sign of Alexius. I was almost disappointed. I picked up my bag, hoisted it up onto my shoulder, and began walking. My mind was swirling with thoughts, and I was completely in my own little world. I was just walking by the toilet shack at the edge of the field when an arm grabbed me and a hand closed over my mouth. In a split-second, I thrust my hand into my pocket, trying to squeeze the intercom device Fury gave me. I couldn't reach it in time and let out a muffled scream. Suddenly I was pinned against the brick wall, Alexius's forearm across my chest and his face inches from mine.

"Quiet, mortal!" he barked out angrily.

My heart was racing.

"What are you going to do, kick me?" Alexius scoffed arrogantly.

I cast my eyes down, my breath shallow and rapid. This was not how an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. was supposed to act.

"Look at me, swine!"

I thrust my eyes up, a flame lighting in my heart at Alexius's insults.

"You will never win," I replied determinedly. "And I don't care what you do with me. S.H.I.E.L.D. knows what you and your father are planning. You'll never rule earth."

He cracked an evil smile. "Believe what you want, human." He seemed thoughtful, devious. "I wonder what measures the Captain would go to..." he seemed to pause for dramatic effect. "To save his kidnapped daughter?"

I was ashamed to admit it to myself, but panic struck into my heart. _No, no!_ I screamed inside. I knew Dad would do anything to get me back, even compromise the fate of the team.

A flicker of amusement-twisted, evil, hateful amusement-glimmered in Alexius's eyes. He seemed more terrifying than a thirteen-year-old should be. Maybe it was because he was so horrifically like Loki.

"What would the man in red, white, and blue think about that, huh?" he taunted me.

"I don't care what you do with me," I said again.

He seemed to pause to reflect on this. Then he abruptly moved his arm from my chest, releasing me from being pinned against the wall. I thought about trying to escape and even took the first step, but before I could take another, Alexius spun around and made a gesture with his hands. I was pinned against the wall again by my wrists, but nothing was there but air! My eyes went wide with disbelief. How was I being held there? I writhed and squirmed.

"You underestimate me," Alexius hissed. "My father taught me his magic and had me apprenticed to some of the most talented magicians. I can do more than you think, mortal."

I gave up struggling and glared at him. "You're accomplishing nothing by holding me here."

"Silence!"

I frowned. _This Alexius is a strange, strange person, _I thought. _ Then again,_ I reminded myself, _he _is _Loki's son._

He turned to face me. "You'll go free." He paused. "For _now_." He made another gesture with his hands and I was free. I stood there for a moment, staring at him, and then ran straight for the SUV. I slammed the door shut and looked at Fury.

"He's here!"

Agent Hill and Fury glanced at each other.

"Why didn't you intercom?" I could see trouble written all over Agent Hill's face.

"I...I tried to reach it, but I didn't have time." I was out of breath. "He had me pinned against the wall."

"Did you see where he went?" Fury asked.

I shook my head. "I ran." I couldn't bear their looks. "He threatened to kidnap me."

Fury and Agent Hill jumped out of the SUV, guns in tow.

"Comb the area," Fury commanded. I could see his wheels turning-a plan being formed in his head.

Suddenly, "Sir!" Agent Hill pointed. There was Alexius, walking briskly across the street in front of us.

Fury and Agent Hill sprang into action and ran after Alexius. I ran after them. Agent Hill turned around to me.

"Stay _back_! You have no way of defending yourself!" she shouted.

"Yes, I do!" I shouted back, catching up to her.

"What?"

I reached down into my handy interior gun holster-the kind that slips inconspicuously inside the waist of my pants-and pulled out a handgun.

"Do you seriously think that my dad would let me go out unprotected?" I cocked the gun and grinned. "It's pretty handy."

Fury was a little ahead of us. Alexius had begun to run when he saw us.

"Come on, let's catch up."

We broke into a sprint. Alexius turned and headed down an alley. _Darn,_ I thought, as I began to develop a stitch in my side. I heard shots being fired. We finally caught up with Fury.

"Open fire," he yelled.

I began firing desperately, almost blindly, half forgetting what my mom and Natasha had taught me about shooting. I wasn't afraid. I was used to guns and shootouts and chases-I had grown up in that enviroment-that didn't bother me. But this was my first real mission. I felt desperate. I _couldn't _fail at this. I _had_ to take this guy down.

"Calm down," I heard Agent Hill mutter beside me. We were slowly falling further and further behind Alexius and were still not hitting him. Even Fury was slowing down. _This guy's talented,_ I thought. And then-_bang!_-I saw Alexius falter and grab his leg. But he kept running and rounded a corner, and Fury stopped.

"We need to go after him!" I exclaimed. I was surprised at my own boldness. Fury generally made me feel sort of like a child who had stolen the cookies from the cookie jar, and I tried to avoid him and keep contact with him to a minimum.

He looked down at me.

"Leave him. We'll go back to headquarters and make a strategy. It's not time yet."

_Why not take him down easily when we can? _I thought.

Agent Hill put her hand on my shoulder. She was out of breath, as was I.

"Let's get back to headquarters," Fury said firmly.

_**OoOoOoO**_

_**Back at headquarters**_

Dad tapped his fingers on the table. Mom looked down at the table. Natasha looked at me. Tony smacked his gum and stroked the scruff on his chin, and Clint stared into space. Bruce looked at the file before him.

"We defeated the Chitauri," he said thoughtfully, in that manner he always used. "Loki was pretty much helpless without them. But this Alexius is by himself. As far as we know, he doesn't have any kind of army-he doesn't seem to indicate it by the way he spoke to Reni. How does he expect to take over the earth by himself if Loki couldn't do it?"

I glanced up. "I think he believes he is more powerful than Loki." I paused. "Whether or not that's true, I can't say. I-"

BANG! I stopped in the middle of my sentence. Something burst through the wall-the actual wall! Dust and pieces of plaster went everywhere. I ducked.

"What the heck?" I heard Tony yell.

"Greetings, Midgardians," a liony voice belted out.

I blinked and rubbed my eyes. There before me was Thor.

Dad stood up. "Thor!" he exlaimed welcomingly.

I saw Mom chuckle.

Tony grinned. "Well, if it isn't the gladiator."

Fury glanced at the enormous hole in the wall.

"Welcome, Thor. I thought you'd be making an appearance soon. Sit down."

"I do not feel like sitting at this moment, Fury."

To my surprise, Thor looked straight at me.

"You are in danger, child."

I couldn't speak.

"We know that," Dad said.

"And we're training her," Clint put in, the first thing he had said since we had arrived back to headquarters. He looked at me, and I thought I saw a reassuring smile come across his face-but it vanished quickly.

"No amount of training can equip a mere mortal child for what my brother and my nephew are planning."

I finally found my voice. "Is Loki coming to earth again?"

"I expect he will, but there's no way to be sure."

"Have you spoken to him?"

Thor seemed taken back.

"How would I? Once we were back in Asgard in my father's palace, he wouldn't let me near him..." His voice faded to a quiet murmur. "And I haven't seen him since he escaped to the land of the frost giants." A sad, pondering expression come over his face.

"Thor, we know he's planning to use Alexius to conquer and rule the earth, but how is he planning to do it?" Dad asked. "We defeated the Chitauri."

"There are more evil races and realms than that of the Chitauri, Rogers."

"What do you mean?"

"The Ferox."


	4. Chapter Four

"Ferox?" Dad asked in a concerned tone.

"Yes." Thor cleared his throat. For once, he seemed at a loss for words. "They are...very...determined. They don't give up easily."

"Most armies don't," Clint commented.

"No," Thor paused, trying to find the right words. "They are different. They will keep going, and pushing, and moving, and _dying_, until they get what they want. They are _relentless_."

No one spoke. Thor had gotten his point across. These guys were going to be _tough_. We were going to have to step up our game in a huge way.

"So basically we're going to face Loki, his son, and a stronger army than before?" Tony inquired, a skeptical look on his face.

"Yes," Thor replied. "But it won't just be Loki, Alexius, and the Ferox. Loki will bring a division of Frost Giants, too. Perhaps a small division, but a division nonetheless."

Tony let out a whistle and leaned back in his chair.

"I don't get it," Natasha said. "Neither Alexius nor Loki have mentioned an army. And you said yourself, Thor, that you haven't spoken to Loki since he was here on earth-that's thirteen years ago. How do you know all this?"

I don't know why, but in spite of the circumstances, Thor cracked one of his arrogant, 'I know it all' grins. "Heimdall," was his one-worded response.

_Heimdall, _I thought. _Where have I heard that?_ And then it hit me. _ Of course! It's the guardian of the Bifrost! The man who sees almost everything._

Natasha nodded. "I see."

"I thought Heimdall couldn't see into Jotunheim," I said.

"Jotunheim?" Tony asked.

I had to roll my eyes a little.

"Yes, Jotunheim. That's where the Frost Giants live."

"Seriously, Tony," Natasha muttered.

Tony scowled and shrugged.

"_Hello_, let's get back to the problem at hand, folks." Clint put his elbows on the table and rubbed his temples.

"Heimdall has found a way to see into Jotunheim," Thor continued. "Don't ask me how. He's a mysterious man and a great one at that."

"So you know for a fact that Loki is planning to join Alexius on earth with an army of Frost Giants and these...Ferox?" Dad inquired.

"Yes."

"When?"

"Soon. Very soon."

There seemed to be nothing else to say. For just a moment, everyone was quiet. Then, Fury spoke. "Regardless of when Loki and his army comes, we have to deal with the current cirumstances, people. I want everyone to get geared up and meet me in the briefing room in forty-five minutes. We're going after Alexius."

Natasha and Mom cocked their guns. Dad sported his shield. Tony entered the room in full suit. Thor swung his hammer. Clint was setting his bow. Bruce prepared...to go into a rage. Dad looked down at me as I cocked my own gun and glanced at myself in a nearby mirror.

"Reni, be careful."

I nodded, beaming with anticipation. "You know I will."

He looked down and cleared his throat.

"I, uh...I'm really proud of you, you know. This is your first real mission." He looked at me seriously. "I'm _really_ proud of you."

I smiled and wiped some moisture out of my eyes. "Thank you, Dad."

"All right, folks, let's get on the move," Fury said, entering the room, Agent Hill trailing behind him. "Here's how we're going to do this. We last saw Alexius rounding the corner of these two streets." He placed his firm, callused finger down on a map spread across a table in the center of the room. "He had been shot in the leg by...one of our bullets."

"Seriously wounded?" Natasha inquired.

"I didn't get much of a look at it; but it's not a scratch, that's for sure. I'm not saying he's going to die from it, but he's hurt."

Natasha nodded. "Who fired the bullet that got him in the leg?"

Fury hesitated a moment, then glanced at me and back at Natasha. "It was Reni's."

Natasha looked over at me. I was feeling a surge of emotions: shock, happiness, excitement, and then-sadness. I was puzzled at myself for being sad...after all, wasn't this supposed to be some kind of moment of glory? I managed a weak, strange smile at Natasha. After that, for just a few moments, everyone and everything was drowned out by my thoughts.

_I've seen all this before. Going on a mission and taking down the enemy-those have always been my dreams. Why would I be sad? _I thought. _Alexius is trying to take away the freedom of the people. He deserves all of this. _No matter how many times I repeated this to myself, I couldn't chase away the small feeling of regret that a thirteen-year-old boy was going to have to face all of this. _After all,_ I thought, _he's just a kid. Like me. I guess. _These feelings annoyed me. _I'm not supposed to do this!_

"Reni...Reni. Reni!"

I snapped back into reality at my mom's crisp British accent calling my name.

"Reni, did you hear Fury?"

"Um...I..."

"Move out!"

I grabbed her arm. "Mom."

She turned around. "Yes?"

"How did Fury...how did he know that it was my bullet? We were all firing, and we were firing really fast."

She exhaled and looked down, then back up at me. Her face held a serious expression; an expression I hadn't seen before.

"Fury is a smart man. You'd be surprised at his abilities. If he says you were the one that shot Alexius, you were. There's no mistaking it for him. He's been around these kinds of things for a long time. He just knows."

I nodded. No words could come. I simply followed her out of headquarters.

"My conclusion is that Alexius is hiding somewhere around these two or three streets," Fury said, looking around him. "He couldn't have gotten too far."

We were standing on the sidewalk of one of New York City's back streets. It seemed to be deserted. That was a good thing-there's no telling how much attention we would have gotten had it been an extremely busy street.

"I want you guys to comb the area. Steve, Tony, Clint, and Bruce, I want you to branch off by yourselves and look around. And I want you, Natasha, Agent Carter, and Reni, to team up. You don't have to stay together; just stay in the same general area and look around."

Dad, Tony, Clint and Bruce nodded and shot off into different directions. Natasha glanced at Mom and me.

"Let's go."

We headed down a nearby alley, guns ready. I scarcely dared to breathe. We crept along at what seemed to be a snail's pace, though we were probably going quite swiftly. I thought I was hearing noises, and glanced up at Natasha and Mom several times, but they didn't seem to have heard anything, so I ignored it and kept following them.

Suddenly, the noise got louder. It hit me like a brick: It was a groan! Natasha, Mom, and I all turned our heads towards the noise, then looked at each other, wide-eyed. There was no mistaking it. Natasha pressed her finger against her lips, signaling for us to be quiet, and made a gesture with her hands that said, "Follow me."

We turned the corner of the first alley and headed down another, stepping along softly. As we came around the bend of this last alley, I gasped. There, in a little niche between two buildings, sat Alexius.

His face was pale with pain. One leg was bandaged and outstretched, the other bent at his side. He had an expression on his face-one I had seen briefly before on others-an expression of pain; writhing, agonizing pain. My heart skipped a beat. Who was this person? Surely he was not the son of Loki. He was just a boy. A boy with a heart, who was dealing with pain. A boy who needed help. I fought to keep my emotions under control and hidden. I glanced at Mom and Natasha and saw that strange expressions had come over their faces, too.

Alexius winced and looked up; pain and, to my surprise, fear was written across his face. Then I saw a cool mask cover those emotions.

"Well? Are you going to finish me off? Imprison me? You're not just going to stand there gawking, are you?" he inquired in an annoyed tone.

I saw Natasha take a deep breath and aim her gun at Alexius.

"Stand up slowly. Keep your hands where we can see them."

Alexius blinked. He didn't move. He just sat there. Surprisingly, Natasha didn't repeat what she had said or get angry. There was an awkward, uncertain silence in the air.

"I can't," Alexius finally replied, breaking that silence.

Mom regained her composure first and nodded. "Right. Your leg." She glanced at me. "Reni, help Natasha get him up."

I hesitated for just a moment, then stepped towards him. I lifted one of his arms onto my shoulder. The air was still awkward and uneasy. Natasha reached down to do the same, and then-**BOOM**, _whizz_-I saw her reach down and grab her leg, gasping. I stepped back, clapping my hand over my mouth in disbelief.

"Mom, Natasha's been shot!"

I immediately cast my eyes down at Alexius. It wasn't him-his eyes were wide with shock. I looked around. Where on earth had that come from? I looked back at Natasha. She had sunk to the ground, Mom sitting right beside her and trying to calm the pain.

"Reni," Mom said, looking up at me, "go find Fury or Agent Hill or someone. Quickly." She glanced down at Alexius. "If we can't find anyone, we'll have to carry her to the van ourselves and then deal with him."

I nodded and sprinted down the alley from which we had come. I made a turn and headed down the next one. I emerged upon the sidewalk where our vehicles were parked. No one was there. _Darn! _I thought. _There's no telling where they are. _I looked up. The sky was a charcoal gray, promising rain. The street was still deserted, save for a few lone stragglers walking hurriedly down the sidewalk, coats pulled around their shoulders. I looked around quickly, then darted down another street Fury had pointed out. I saw figures walking in the distance, way down the street...but I couldn't quite make out who they were. _Oh, come on!_ I thought. _Think like an agent, Reni, think like an agent._ No matter how many times I repeated these words to myself, the only thing I could think of was how very scary this situation seemed. Natasha was one of the best agents in S.H.I.E.L.D. Who had shot her? Where was he? Who was he planning to strike next?

And then, I thought of Alexius. Why did I feel so...broken-hearted for him? He had seemed so pitiful sitting there by the alley, defenseless and alone. But what about when he had pinned me against the wall and threatened to kidnap me? Who _was_ this guy? The son of _Loki_? _Really_? In some ways, he was just like him-but in other ways, he seemed different.

I squinted my eyes. I was gaining closely on the figures and I finally recognized them-Agent Hill and Fury. They were about to round a corner. I put a little more speed into my step. I was just about to catch up with them. Then-_whizz!_-I heard that unmistakable sound of an arrow being released from its bow. Fury and Agent Hill immediately drew back, almost bumping into me. I cast my eyes upward. There, on top of a building, stood Clint. And then I looked around the corner and saw Loki himself, holding the arrow in his hand, a smirk on his face. I took a deep breath and clutched my stomach. No one moved. Loki grinned.

"It seems that I have caught your arrow once again, Mr. Barton," he said, glancing up at Clint. And then he looked right at me, his green eyes burning a hole into my brown eyes.

"A shot for a shot." He formed the words precisively.

And just like that, he disappeared. I exhaled, closed my eyes, and shuddered. When I opened them, Fury, Agent Hill, Dad, Tony, Clint, and Bruce were there, looking at me.

"What did he mean, a shot for a shot?" Fury asked in his deep, intimidating voice. At the moment he didn't seem to matter, though. I took a deep breath. For the first time, Fury seemed tense and concerned.

"He shot Natasha in the leg. We didn't know it was him. Mom is with her. I was coming to get help." It was all I could do to blurt out these few sentences. I saw Clint's eyes grow big.

"Where is she?" he asked, a strange expression coming over his face.

"That way," I said, pointing. I set off in a run towards where I had left Natasha and Mom. Clint was running along beside me. The others were behind us. My mind was foaming with emotion. Fear, shock, sadness, anger, and more fear and anger. Fear of Loki and anger at my fears. When we finally arrived at Natasha's side, rain droplets were falling on our shoulders. Clint was down on his knees in an instant. I watched it all play out on his face: surprise, a sort of upset expression, deep sadness, almost to the point of tears, and then-his face was virtually flaming-anger.

"Nat," was all he said.

Natasha was taking deep breaths, wincing each time she exhaled, but she managed to gasp out the words, "It's nothing. I've had these kinds of wounds before."

Clint looked up at Fury.

"We need to get her out of here."

"But what about Loki?" Tony asked.

Clint glared at him.

"Loki can wait. Natasha's hurt."

"Yeah, but-"

"Clint's right. We'll get Natasha back to headquarters and get her some medical attention, and then we'll go after Loki," Fury said.

Tony nodded. Clint gently put one arm under Natasha's legs and one around her back and lifted her. He began walking swiftly but carefully towards the SUVs. Everyone followed along behind him. The rain was drenching us now. We finally loaded everyone into the vehicles and headed down the street. I rested my chin in my hands and looked out the window for a moment. Then, suddenly, a thought struck me-a terrible, fearsome thought. I turned to Mom.

"Mom, Loki said, 'A shot for a shot.'" I took a deep breath. "We fired more than one shot."

Mom nodded and looked down. "I know."


	5. Chapter Five

"All right. Come here."

I took a breath and shuddered inwardly as I followed Mom, Bruce, and a S.H.I.E.L.D. nurse into the room where Natasha sat. I could handle missions, and I could fire a bullet at someone, but dealing with blood and needles and surgical equipment and oozy, opened skin just made me want to vomit. I was able to suffer through it, however, and was standing at Natasha's side when it was all said and done.

"You okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."

I bit my lip. "It looked like it really hurt."

She furrowed her eyebrows into a frown. "It did. And I don't understand why." She seemed thoughtful.

I let out a small, nervous laugh. "Well, Natasha, it _is_ a bullet, after all."

She shook her head. "No, I've been shot plenty of times before. No bullet ever felt like that."

"What do you mean?"

She shrugged. "That's just it. I don't know. I don't understand it. That bullet seemed three times worse than any bullet I've ever been shot with." She paused to reposition her leg, wincing a little as it was still sore. "And I've been shot with a _lot _of bullets in my time."

I nodded, smiled casually, and made my way out of the room and down the hall, thinking hard. The thought of Loki possessing a special line of guns made a mess out of my nerves. I started walking faster down the hall, looking down. I shook my head, trying to shake those thoughts out with it. I felt myself collide with someone.

"Wha-oh, it's you."

I looked up into the face of Tony and popped on a grin.

"Yep, it's me," I said.

"Well, Clint's freaking out. You need to talk to him."

I nodded. "Where is he?"

"In his training room."

"Clint?"

"Right here."

I looked up.

"Get out of the rafters. I need to talk to you."

He jumped down in one swift motion.

"How is Natasha?"

I nodded. "She's doing just fine."

He began to push past me toward the door.

"_But_," I called out quickly, "she needs rest. As in, _uninterrupted _rest."

"Oh...okay."

I perched myself on a ledge there in the training room.

"Clint, do you think Loki could produce a..um..superior line of guns and other weapons?"

Clint glanced at me, a puzzled expression on his face, then shrugged.

"I guess. The guy's pretty talented, Reni." He paused. "Why do you ask?"

I put on a casual, innocent face.

"Oh, just wondering."

He raised an eyebrow but returned to setting his bow as I left the room.

I closed the door behind me and walked down the hall a few paces, then took a seat against the wall with a sigh. _What have we gotten ourselves into?_ I thought. I closed my eyes for a few minutes, searching my brain, just pondering. I opened my eyes to see Agent Hill standing right in front of me. I quickly straightened up.

"Agent Hill. Sorry," I said sheepishly.

She ignored my apology. "Fury has asked to see you and the rest of the team."

I nodded and set off for the meeting room, thoughts whirling. Upon entering, I saw all of the Avengers-minus Natasha-sitting there. I took a seat beside my parents.

"We lost Alexius," Fury said, reminding us of what had happened earlier that day. Agent Hill and I had been guarding Alexius as the rest of the team was moving Natasha into the van and getting ready to leave the area, but he had been slipped out from under our noses, it seemed.

Fury continued. "Someone clearly took him. He couldn't have escaped on his own. The question is, who took him?"

He let us think on that for a moment.

"Well, my first thought would be Loki," Tony remarked.

"Mine, too," Dad said.

Fury nodded.

"That's your first thought," Mom commented. "But what about the Ferox?"

Thor nodded.

"It's very likely that the Ferox are the ones that took him." He hesitated. "But at the same time, Loki is notorious for doing things like that. And if we had just seen him, he might have stuck around the area to get his son when your backs were turned."

I nodded.

"I think it was Loki," I said slowly.

Silence.

"But why are you so sure?" Tony asked.

I shrugged. "I just...I don't know. I just have this feeling that the Ferox aren't on earth yet."

Tony raised an eyebrow. "Are you su-"

"You know, she's probably got a point."

Natasha stood in the doorway, leaning on one side. A fire leapt into Clint's eyes at her sight.

"What do you mean?" Bruce asked, pushing his black-rimmed glasses further up on his nose.

"It's something that, _well_, good agents develop. You just have a knack-a sense for things like that. You can feel it."

Mom nodded. "I get that feeling, too, when it's about something really important."

"So what are you saying, Nat?" Clint inquired.

"I'm _saying _that Reni's probably right. The Ferox aren't on earth yet."

Everyone was silent, thinking over this possible bit of information.

"If Loki and Alexius are the only ones we have to worry about right now, wouldn't it make sense to go ahead and take them out?" Dr. Banner seemed to be onto something. "I mean, if Loki wasn't around to conduct the Ferox attack, do you think they'd still try to go through with it?"

Everyone turned to Thor.

"I cannot say whether or not the Ferox would try to attack Midgard if my brother wasn't here to lead them," Thor stated in a matter-of-fact way, "but I will say this: if you kill my brother or my nephew, you will have me to reckon with."

An awkward silence ensued.

"Thor," Fury said finally, "Loki is your brother and Alexius is your nephew, but you know as well as we do that both of them have to be stopped."

"Of course I know that," Thor said, his voice rising, "and I don't object to capturing and perhaps imprisoning them, but if you harm them, you shall have me to dispute with."

Tony shook his head.

"Thor," Bruce said, frowning slightly, "if we catch them, they need to go in some dark, deep prison. There's no "perhaps" or "maybe" as far as this goes." He glanced at Fury. "I would be willing to respect your wishes and not seriously harm Loki or Alexius. And I'm sure the rest of the team would be willing to do so with me. But at the same time, desperate times call for desperate measures...and we're in desperate times."


	6. Chapter Six

I gritted my teeth.

"Arm back, squirt," Tony said.

I slowly pulled my arm back a little.

"Bring your bow higher."

I whirled around, exasperated, and glared at Tony.

"Would you be quiet?" I looked at Clint pleadingly. "Aren't you going to make him be quiet? You're supposed to be teaching me, not him."

He sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Seriously, Tony. Don't you have anything better to do?"

Tony grinned.

"Nope."

"Everyone else is training," I retorted.

"I don't need to."

"Of course," I replied under my breath, and resumed my bow position. Clint furrowed his eyebrows.

"Okay, bring your hand up so that it's right beside your mouth-parallel."

Tony strode out of the room, much to my satisfaction.

"Focus...focus," Clint said quietly.

I ran through my brain, chucking out everything, scraping it clean. And then I focused my attention in on one thing. _That little target several yards away._

"Release," Clint said suddenly.

I released-_whizz!_

I took a deep breath and realized my eyes were closed. I opened them and glanced up at Clint. He smiled that slight, satisfied smile and nodded.

"Good job," he said. "Just try not to close your eyes next time."

I turned my eyes to the target. It was in the center, but I hadn't quite made a bullseye.

"It's not...good enough."

"Good enough?"

"You make a bullseye every time. I've only made two or three since I began training with you."

He furrowed his eyebrows and leaned against the wall.

"They call me Hawkeye for a reason."

"I know that."

"Then why are you beating yourself up about not making a bullseye?"

"Because I should be able to make one almost every time by now."

He let out a noise that sounded like a snort.

"Yeah, no. Reni, you just started training."

"But I've been training so hard."

"That doesn't matter. It takes time."

I replied with silence. I was a bit surprised-Clint was usually a man of few words.

Clint fiddled with his bow.

"You know...you're going to be in a whole new world now. More responsibilities. More power. More danger. But I'll guarantee you one thing. You'll have more respect after this. You won't be seen as a kid anymore. You'll be treated like an adult by almost everyone you know."

My heart felt like it was going to burst out of my chest. I felt conflicted-excited, yet anxious. Eager, yet a bit sad at the thought that this might just be the final end of my childhood.

"Well..." Now my voice trailed off. "Well, that's good."

_Good?_ I screamed inside. _ Is that all you can think of to say? You're weak. You really need to grow up. _

Hawkeye raised an eyebrow.

"Good..."

A rather awkward silence hung in the air.

"I um...better go find my mom or Natasha. I've got a long day of training ahead of me." My voice was strained.

Clint nodded.

"See you later."

Feeling cornered and pressured, I made my escape from the room and hurried down the hall. _I'm such a perfectionist, _I thought. _And a failure, _came a voice from within me. _I am not, _I argued. _Yeah, whatever._

I quickly made my way toward the center of S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters. I stuck my head in Natasha's training room. No one there. I wandered over to the shooting range. No one there, either. I crossed my arms and looked around. "Where is everyone?" I asked out loud. Silence replied. Things seemed...deserted. I decided to head for the conference room and hurried in that direction.

Something made me slow my steps. I don't know what it was, but it made me stop. Maybe it was the stillness. The silence. Not a placid silence, but a rather uneasy silence. Everything seemed so...deserted. Usually, the headquarters were abuzz with activity. I began to take small, quiet steps toward the conference room door. It was slightly ajar-just slightly. As I came very near to it, I could hear murmuring voices. They sounded tense. I put my eye to the crack. I could see Fury and one of the on-staff doctors inside, and Agent Maria Hill standing to the side, her arms crossed in that usual manner of hers. I turned my head and put my ear against the crack so I could hear the conversation, trying to quiet my seemingly loud breathing.

"I've doctored up many bullet wounds for Miss Natasha. Never have I seen her take one so hard," came a somewhat unfamiliar voice. The doctor's.

"So, what are you saying?" came the commanding, deep-voiced reply from Fury.

"I'm _saying_-" he paused. "I'm saying that whoever these people are...Loki, Alexius, the Ferox...they have produced some sort of superior bullet. You better figure it out, or it'll cause real problems."

I raised an eyebrow. Superior bullets? Real problems?

Just then, I saw a figure come quickly toward the door. I backed up frantically, turned the corner just outside the door, and did my best to lean non-chalantly against the wall and stare at my shoes as Fury and the doctor passed. Fury and the doctor passed silently, looking straight ahead, still tense, but Agent Hill gave me a sharp look as she passed. Everyone often said that if looks could kill, Agent Hill would be an assassin.

I let out a deep breath and looked around. Everything was still silent. I dove my hands into my pockets and set off to find Natasha.


End file.
